The 24th WMAT
by iMysticalDBZ
Summary: Four years after the defeat of Cell, the Son Family is in need of help financially. To help fix this problem, Gohan decides to enter the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament. There, he meets a raven-haired girl and her two friends... but little does he know that won’t be the last time they see eachother... Rated T for occasional profanity.
1. Chapter 1

"This is talking"

_This is thinking_

**This is typically a flashback**

**ž is the _symbol _that I will use for Zeni**

Date: April 20th, (Age 771)

Four years had passed since his father sacrificed himself at the Cell Games, and the savior of the world, Son Gohan still blamed himself for his father's death... his little brother was growing up without a father, and it was all his fault.

But that wasn't where the problems ended. Money was getting tight and the fourteen-year-old boy would soon have to find somewhere to work. The teenager had already mentioned to his mother that the richest women in the world, Bulma Briefs was like family to them, but his mother insisted they didn't need anyone else's help financially, as they needed to be independent.

"Hey Mom, I'm home!" Gohan shouted as he walked into the kitchen and set some groceries down on the counter.

"Perfect timing! Come here son, you need to see this!" His mother shouted from her room. She sounded, happy?

"Hey Mom, what did you want to show me?" The teenage boy asked as he walked into his mother's room. In response, his mother pointed to the television.

"**The winner of this competition will take home the Grand Prize of 1,000,000ž! The runner-up will take home 250,000ž! Please note all contestants under the age of 14 will have to participate in the Junior Division, competing for a Grand Prize of 100,000ž, the runner-up will be awarded 25,000ž. This competition will take place on May 20th!" The TV spokesman stated.**

Do you know what this means??" Chi-Chi asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer. "It means you won't have to find a job! You can just go win this thing and bring home the grand prize! We'll be financially stable!"

"And we'll finally be able to afford enough food for both me and Goten." The teenager said as his eyes brightened. "They said May 20th right? So that means I'll be able to compete against the adults and get even more zeni." He said as he thought about it.

One Month Later

"So wait, why are you guys here? Are you guys competing too?" Gohan asked, surprised to see some old friends at the tournament.

"Well, I was planning on it. But I don't think I'll stand much of a chance now that I know you're competing." Said the former bald-headed monk who recent grew up his hair out.

"Yeah, same here." The Taitans superstar explained. "But there's always the prize of runner-up so I think I'll still compete." He said with a shrug.

"That's true. Too bad you won't be getting that runner-up prize since I'm competing too." Said a voice from behind them.

"Tien? I haven't seen you in years bro!" Yamcha said with a smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah it's been a while, hasn't it? And look at you Gohan, you've grown quite a bit. And... wait, is that you Krillin? Are you wearing a wig?" Tien asked, causing everyone but Krillin to start laughing.

"IT IS NOT A WIG!" Krillin shouted angrily, gaining the attention of everyone around him. "Oops, a little too loud." He said much quieter with a chuckle. "But I'm not normally bald you know, I just waxed back in the day." He explained.

"Wait really? I had no idea." Tien replied.

After a few minutes of catching up, a group of teenagers caught Gohan's attention. Noticing the teen's interest in this group, Yamcha elbowed the teen. "I bet you won't go up and get one of their phone numbers." He said, causing Gohan's face to redden.

"Yeah you're right, I bet I won't." Gohan replied.

"Just do it Gohan! Make us proud!" Yamcha said, before Krillin joined in on the fun.

"Yeah! Atleast go talk to them!" He said, pushing Gohan towards the group.

"Fine! Just quit pushing me." Gohan finally said after contemplating his options. With that being said, the spiky-haired teen walked up to the trio. "Hey, my name is Gohan. What are your names?"

"Oh hey Cutie, I'm Erasa! This is my friend Videl and that's Sharpener." The blonde girl said, introducing her and her friends to the onyx-eyed teen.

Gohan blushed a little after the blonde girl's comment. "It's good to meet you guys. Are you guys competing in the tournament?" He asked.

"I'm not, but they are!" The blonde girl, Erasa said.

_Dang is she always this happy and positive?_ Gohan thought to himself. "Junior Division or against the adults?"

"We're both in the Adult Division. I won the Junior Division last time I was here." Videl said, pride evident in her voice. "What about you?" She asked.

"I'm fighting in the Adult Division as well. Good luck to both of you guys! Hope you do well." Gohan said with a smile on his face.

"Good luck to you too. You're going to need it if you go up against me." The blonde boy, Sharpener said cockily.

~ 1 Hour Later

"All contestants in the Adult Division please make your way to the practice ring, where all the punching machines are!" One of the main officials shouted through a megaphone.

"Punching machines?" Gohan asked, confused.

"Oh, they added those at the last tournament I think. There is no more preliminary rounds, instead everyone punches this machine and the people with the highest scores get to compete in the tournament." Yamcha explained.

"Oh, that's dumb." Gohan replied. He didn't like the concept of pure strength being the deciding factor for qualification.

"I agree." The three-eyed martial artist replied.

As the line got shorter, there were only six people left in the line, all five of the others were in front of Gohan. Among those four people were the two contestants he met earlier along with Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin. Let's see what he can get. He thought as the blonde teen punched the machine. _168\. Not bad. _He thought as he watched the raven-haired girl walk up to the machine. _208, impressive. I think that's the highest score yet._

Meanwhile, the raven-haired girl was excited. She just got the highest score on the punching machine! Her pride showed through her smile as she watched the next contestant... that smile quickly disappeared and her expression turned to one of shock rather than pride. _437! No way!_ I _must've really damaged the machine._ She thought.

"Um, Sir, could you please punch it again? I think we experienced a malfunction." The official in charge of the punching machine said.

"Sure, but it wasn't a malfunction." He said confidently, as if he was sure it wasn't a malfunction. Throwing another punch, the fighter earned another crazy number, this time it was 428, just lower than his previous.

Eyes wide in shock, the official spoke. "Umm, right this way sir. You'll be competing in the tournament." This earned a grin from the baseball star.

The next guy, who looked a bit familiar to Videl stepped up to punch. I wonder if he's as strong as the other guy. _They seem to be in one group_. She thought as he punched the machine. _293! Unreal. How strong are these guys?_

"Umm, sir, could you hit this punching machine instead?" The official asked, walking over to the other punching machine.

"Sure thing." Tien said as he punched the other machine.

308\. The machine read. _That's not possible! My Dad only scored a 223 at the last tournament and he saved the world from Cell!_

"Y-you're in as well. Right this way sir." He told the three-eyed martial artist.

"Next up." He said. This time it was a shorter guy with hair that almost looked like a wig. Throwing a quick punch, he earned a score 486. _I wonder if he's as strong as the others._ She thought to herself watching the teenage boy step up.

Quickly, the boy threw a punch. The number went all the way up to 999 before giving off an error code and then exploding. _No way he just did that_. She thought, eyes wide.

"Sir, you're going to have to hit this machine since that one must've had a malfunction and blew up." The official explained to Gohan.

Gohan frowned, not excited to have to hit the machine as weakly as possible again. It took effort to hit it that softly! "Alright then." He said, throwing a really slow punch.

_734! No way that can be right!_ Videl thought with her eyes bulging out. _They must've used some cheap trick or something! _

After the spiky-haired teen walked off to the three of his friends, Videl ran to him, needing an explanation. "Just who the hell are you guys and how the hell did you guys all do that? Did you guys rig it?" Videl asked, anger evident in her voice and facial expression. She just recorded the highest score on the punching machine, and then these four guys come in and score outrageous numbers!

Gohan chuckled and scratched the back of his head, the typica Son Grin. "I guess we did hit it a little too hard after all."

"Yeah, I guess so." Yamcha said with a laugh.

"So you guys did or didn't rig it?" Videl was confused, as no one answered her question.

"Of course we didn't rig it." Krillin replied. "You'll realize that during our matches. You can say we're _pretty_ _accomplished_ martial artists."

"Is that so?" Videl asked, eyeing the group. "Well, since we're all competing in the tournament, what are your names? I already met Gohan." Videl explained.

"I'm Krillin. This is Tien Shinhan and that is Yamcha Bandit." The former bald monk introduced himself and his friends, causing Videl's eyes to widen substantially.

"Wait, you're _the _Krillin!? And you're _the _Tien Shinhan that won the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament!? And you're that player for the Taitans that everyone always talks about?"

"Yup, that's us." Yamcha said with a chuckle. "I see we have quite the reputation, huh?" He asked his friends.

"I guess so." Tien said with a smile. "Well we have to go eat before the real fun begins. Good luck to you during this tournament." He said, showing good sportsmanship. "Wait, what was your name again?" He asked.

"Videl Satan." She said with a prideful smirk. "And

thank you, good luck to you all as well." Videl replied before looking at the spiky-haired teen one last time. As their eyes met, a thought ran across the girl's mind.

_He's kind of cute. _

But little did she know that boy had the same exact thoughts running through his mind.

**End of Chapter 1**

If you've made it this far, then thank you! This is my first story in quite a while, so my writing is a bit rusty. I've had problems finishing stories in the past,

but this one I already have planned out and the future of it is looking bright in my eyes.. if you enjoyed (or didn't) please leave a review. Chapters will typically be about 3000 Words, although this one was a bit shorter at about 2000 words.

_Until next time..._

_March 13th, 2019_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"In the first match, we have Son Gohan up against Sharpener Pencil!" The announcer shouted, looking back down to the sheet of paper he was holding and then back up to the spiky-haired teen. "Son Gohan is the son of one of the best martial artists to ever compete in this tournament, Son Goku, who was the winner of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku also finished as the runner-up in both the 21st and 22nd World Martial Arts Tournaments." He informed the fans through his megaphone. "Meanwhile, Sharpener Pencil is the grandson of famous martial artist Marker Pencil, the winner of the 18th and 19th World Martial Arts Tournaments. Sharpener finished as the runner-up in the Orange Star Martial Arts Tournament Junior Division! So in this matchup, we have the children of two former champions competing against eachother! He shouted, earning shouts from many fans. Once the two competitors made it to the middle of the ring, they said a few last words to eachother before the match would begin.

"Good luck to you." Gohan said, bowing his head, showing off good sportsmanship.

"Psttt, whatever. I won't need it." Sharpener replied, cockily. After that, there was silence between the two teenage martial artists.

"Now if there's no more to be said, let the match begin!" The announcer shouted, causing the fans in attendance to get even louder.

Gohan and Sharpener both sunk into their respective stances. _What? How? His stance is flawless. _Sharpener thought. His friend Videl was thinking the same thing from the sidelines.

_How could his stance be so perfect? _She thought as she continued to watch the match.

Sharpener soon took the offensive as he always seemed to do, he threw a punch aimed for the spiky-haired teen's temple, but his fist didn't connect with the target. Instead, it connected with the palm of his opponent's hand. _What!? How? _He thought, but before he could get off another attack, the onyx-eyed teen twisted the blonde by his fist, causing him to spin in the air and fall to the floor.

"Ughh, that was a good one, but that won't work on me." The long-haired blonde said as he took the offensive once more, this time sending a kick flying towards the onyx-eyed teen's cheek. But again, it didn't work. His foot connected with the palm of the boy's hand. This time, he twisted the blonde's leg and tossed the blonde as if he were a football. Causing him to land out of bounds.

"And the winner of the match is Son Gohan!" The announcer shouted through his megaphone, leaving mmany fans and a certain raven-haired girl shocked at what they just saw.

_He made Sharpener look so easy... not that Sharpener is amazing or anything, but he's talented. Just how good is this guy?? _The raven-haired girl thought to herself as she watched the spiky-haired boy. This boy then walked over to Sharpener and stood next to him.

"You know, you're a really talented fighter, you just make too many silly mistakes. If you want, I can show you some of your mistakes so you can improve on them." Gohan offered, sticking his hand out to help the blonde up.

_He is being a good sport too, helping his opponent up even after winning the match. Glad to see he isn't just some cocky douchebag. _Videl thought, watching the event unfold in front of her.

"Psttt, normally I'd say no, but I'll accept that offer considering you just made me look like a child." Sharpener replied, grabbing his former opponent's hand before standing up with a grunt. They then began walking back to the room designated for competitors. "You're really good and I underestimated you. I'll admit that. I shouldn't have been so cocky." The blonde said, realizing some of his mistakes.

Gohan chuckled. "That was your biggest flaw if I'm being honest with you. I also thought your stance was a bit flawed and you went on the offensive too much and too violently, wasting too much of your energy. You were already tired by your second attack." He explained.

"Yeah I see what you mean. I should've stayed back a bit more and waited for you to go on the offensive." Sharpener said as he got back to the room and met eyes with his raven-haired friend.

"That was a good match, both of you." Videl said, complimenting the two.

"Yeah, it was. It taught me a lot." Sharpener said, surprising his crime-fighting friend.

"How so?" She asked, confused.

"Well, I was talking to Gohan here about it. We agreed that I went on the offensive too much, wasting a lot of my energy early on. I was also somewhat cocky and underestimated him." Sharpener explained.

Videl was shocked to say the least, her muscular blonde friend would never admit normally talk about his flaws in front of her, in fact, he would never admit to any of his flaws at all. "I see." She said before turning her attention to Gohan. "So they said your dad was the legendary Son Goku, how come he isn't competing today?" Videl asked, genuinely curious, but soon she realized that she should not have said that, as the spiky-haired teen's expression turned to one of sadness.

"He isn't with us anymore." Gohan managed to say. It wasn't a subject he liked talking about.

Videl rook a deep breath, trying to gather her words after she realized how bad she messed up. "I'm so—I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Videl replied, earning a small, but fake smile from Gohan along with a nod.

"It's fine." He replied.

"If it makes it feel any better I know what it's like—to lose a parent that is. My Mom got murdered three years ago... in front of me." Videl explained.

Gohan looked down and nodded to acknowledge her. He hated people's pity, and he didn't want to give her the same pity that he despised, but at the same time he didn't want to come off as an asshole for not saying anything. "Yeah, it's tough." He replied after taking a deep breath. He was going to continue, but he was cut off by the announcer.

"And now its time for the second match of the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament! This time, we have Yamcha Bandit, the superstar from the Taitans up against Nam, a former semi-finalist in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Yamcha on the other hand was a quarterfinalist in the very same tournament!" The announcer shouted, causing fans to go crazy.

_Man, these are some really loud, energetic... and probably drunk fans. _Gohan thought to himself.

"Now do the fighters have anything to say to eachother before we begin?" The announcer asked the two competitors.

"Yes, I'd like to wish my opponent good luck." Nam said, looking to his opponent and bowing.

"Same goes to you." Yamcha said, bowing in return. He smiled at his opponent's good sportsmanship, a rare trait in martial artists of this era.

"Now if that is all to be said, let the match begin!" The announcer shouted, earning outrageously loud shouts from the fans in attendance.

Both fighters sunk into their stances, both very solid with their body weight well-distributed. After studying Yamcha's stance, Nam found a flaw, the baseball star didn't seem to be guarding his legs.

Nam then took the offensive, charging the former bandit. First, he threw a punch with his left, aiming it towards his opponent's temple... it was dodged. Then he threw one with his right... dodged... and that's where Nam saw his opening.

Nam then threw a punch to distract Yamcha, aiming it towards his nose, this attack was blocked with ease, but little did Yamcha know this was just a distraction. Nam then swung his leg toward Yamcha's, sweeping him off of his feet, before attempting a roundhouse kick.

This attempt was successful, but it wasn't nearly enough to finish the former quarter-finalist. "I guess it's time to end it." Yamcha said before charging his opponent, soon ending the match with one punch to the temple, sending Nam flying out of the ring.

"That was a good match." Yamcha said as he walked over to Nam, helping him up.

"Yes, yes it was. By the way, you are a friend of Son Goku, correct?" Nam asked as the two began walking back to the competitors room.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Yamcha asked, confused on how he thought that could be the case and why he wanted to know.

"If you could, please tell him that a guy named Nam from the tournament sends his greetings, and that I hope he is doing well, oh, and that my entire village still appreciates him dearly." Nam instructed.

"Well, I would, but... Goku died four years ago." Yamcha explained, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Oh." Nam said looking to the ground. "I'm very sorry. He was a great man, or _kid_ at the time I knew him. He helped me and my village out a lot, even after he defeated me in the tournament. He was one great fighter too." Nam said, remembering their match.

"Yeah, he was a great fighter and an even better person."

_Does everyone seem to know Gohan's dad personally? _Videl asked herself, before turning her attention back to the tournament. The next match was that Krillin guy and some guy who went by Mighty Mask. Krillin made light work of his masked opponent.

Soon after, Tien Shinhan was up against Jewel, who was the runner-up at the most recent tournament, the Orange Star Martial Arts Tournament, which was literally the same as the typical World Martial Arts Tournament, the only differences being the name and the location. This was where her father earned his name and reputation before defeating Cell.

After Tien quickly defeated Jewel with just one punch, it was her turn to fight.

"And now, for the final match of this round, we have Videl Satan, the winner of the Orange Star Martial Arts Tournament's Junior Division up against Killa, who finished as a Semi-Finalist in the same tournament's Adult Division!" The announcer shouted, causing the audience to get louder then ever before, chants for Videl erupting from every corner of the stadium.

"Good luck." The spiky-haired boy from before told her as she began walking out of the contestant's room. In response, he nodded and gave him a small smile. _She must be really popular if everyone is chanting for her._

Once the two opponents made their way to the middle of the ring, the announcer began to speak once more through his megaphone. "Now if everybody is ready..." He said with a pause, giving him a second to make sure everybody was in-fact ready. "Let the match begin!" The announcer shouted.

Right away, Killa took the offensive, throwing a few jabs that were easily dodged by Videl. You could tell he had a boxing background based on his stance and the way he threw his punches.

"Hiii-yah!" Videl grunted as she swung her leg at her opponent, hitting him in his abdomen and sending him flying out of the ring.

Videl smiled while looking at the audience before throwing up a "victory" sign. She then looked back to the competitor's room where she saw Gohan smiling at her with a thumbs up sign. She smiled back and shot a thumbs up sign right back at him.

End of Chapter 2

**I absolutely HATE writing fight scenes. I just can't do it, I'm terrible at them. This chapter was just a super hard one and a pretty boring one to write at times, but it was necessary for character development.**

**In this chapter, I also addressed a slip-up that reader _ShadowWriter01 _caught. I mentioned Mr. Satan scoring a 223 on the punching machine in the previous tournament, but that would make no sense, as the previous tournament, the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament was the one in which Goku fought Piccolo. To fix this problem, I said there was a tournament prior to this one known as the Orange Star Martial Arts Tournament. **

**To explain it, there was a time where the World Martial Arts Tournament was cancelled due to the potential lack of safety for fans and the damage caused in the 23rd Tournament. In this time, there was an identical tournament in Orange Star City, one year before Cell. This is the tournament that Videl and her father gained publicity. **

**Hopefully that clears everything up and covers up that little slip-up.**

**@Kialina: Thank you for leaving a review and I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, hopefully this one lives up to your expectations as well.**

**@johndoe86: I agree that most of them are bad, although I do really like _The Satan World Tournament _by Team Dragon Star. Hopefully this one does break the trend though!**

**@dld51: I'm glad you like it, hopefully this update isn't too bad haha.**

**Anyways, if you've made it this far, you earn a cookie. Oh, and remember to leave a review!**

_March 16th, 2019_


	3. Chapter 3

"And now it is time for the quarter-finals!" The announcer shouted, causing the crowd to go crazy. "The eight fighters still remaining include Son Gohan, Videl Satan, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha Bandit, Krillin, Pintar, Case, and Boxer!" After a few seconds, he continued. "And in the first match, we have Son Gohan up against Yamcha Bandit! Both fighters showed some extraordinary abilities in each of their matches in the first round!" After the cheering managed to quiet down a bit, he continued once more. "Now both fighters must make their way to the ring." He informer.

"Ahh man, I got to go up against Gohan.." Yamcha said as a drop of sweat fell from his forehead while he walked towards the ring. He went slightly pale when he noticed his audience. Many people were rooting for him, many of the _female _gender. "Ahh man, I can't lose badly in front of all these women." He said in a whiny, complaining tone.

Once both of the fighters were on the ring, Yamcha walked up to his teenage friend and began to whisper in his ear. "You see Gohan, I have a lot of fans here watching me..." He said, looking back to the females in attendance. "Do you think you could make this look like a fair fight?" The former bandit asked, almost beggingly.

Gohan then shot Yamcha the typical _Son Grin_, "Sure" he replied with a light chuckle.

"Now are the two of you ready?" The announcer asked, off the microphone.

"More than I'll ever be." Yamcha replied, looking to Gohan, awaiting his answer.

"I'm ready whenever." He said with a shrug.

"Alright then. The match will begin in just a few seconds." The announcer replied before turning his microphone back on. "Are you all ready for this!?" The announcer asked the crowd, earning a tremendous outburst from the fans. "I'll take that as a yes!" He shouted. "Now let the match begin!"

Both fighters sunk into their stances... each one almost flawless, although Yamcha was making the same mistake as earlier... he had no defense over his legs. _He must be pretty rusty if his stance is actually flawed, _Gohan thought to himself before he flew towards Yamcha, who flew at him in return. Both fighters threw a punch, their fists meeting one another. Yamcha then swung his leg at Gohan in the form of a kick which ended as a failure, as Gohan caught his leg and tossed him out of the ring.

"And the winner is Son Gohan!!!" The announcer shouted causing the crowd to start chanting his name.

Yamcha then got up and dusted his clothes off before walking over to Gohan, who was heading back to the competitors room. "I told you to make it look like a fair fight! What the hell was that kid!?" Yamcha asked, obviously upset at the outcome, which he thought made him look bad.

"Oops, my bad. I guess I just don't know my own strength." Gohan replied, scratching the back of his head, chuckling.

_Wait, what!? Did Yamcha just say that Gohan was supposed to make it look like a fair fight?? How strong is Gohan then, if Yamcha already knew he was going to lose... _Videl thought as she looked at the two fighters who then split up, as Gohan sat down on the bench and Yamcha walked towards the men's locker room.

**In the Locker Room**

"Wait! Before you leave, can I get an autograph?" Sharpener asked the Taitan's star. "I mean I just started playing baseball, but it'd be awesome if you could." He asked, with his baseball glove in his hand.

Yamcha chuckled. "Of course." He replied, taking the baseball glove and signing his signature on it.

Sharpener smiled. "Thank you very much. This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten." He said with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"It's your birthday?" Yamcha asked, in response, he got a nod. "You should've told me that." Yamcha said with a chuckle before taking off his necklace, a gold rope chain with a baseball pendant attatched. "Here, take this as well. I just got a new one so I don't really need this one." Yamcha said, handing him the necklace.

"A-are you sure?" Sharpener asked, the necklace in his hand.

"Of course. Oh, and what was your name again? Sharpener, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's it. Why?" The blonde asked, confused on why the star baseball player wanted to know his name.

"Chase your dreams kid, remember that you can do anything you set your mind to." Yamcha said in response, it wasn't the response Sharpener was hoping for, but it was the only one he was going to get. Yamcha then left the locker room, leaving Sharpener looking at the necklace in his hand before smiling and putting it on.

**In the Competitor's Room**

"I'd love to stay and watch you guys compete, but I feel as if I already know what the outcome will be." Yamcha said to Tien, Krillin, Gohan and Videl, who was talking to Gohan about his match prior to Yamcha's re-entry into the competitor's room.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Videl asked, confused on what the scarred faced man meant.

Yamcha chuckled. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see." He answered with shrug.

**~ 5 Minutes Later**

"Now if you thought the last match was entertaining, this one may top that! We have Videl Satan against Pintar!" The announcer shouted, hyping up the crowd. "Now if both fighters are ready..." he began, looking at the two fighters. "Let the match begin!" He shouted, causing the crowd to erupt in "Videl" chants.

_She sure does have a lot of fans. _Gohan thought, watching the fight from the competitors room.

"Hahaha, so you think you can beat me?" Pintar asked the short girl he was facing before erupting in laughter.

"No. I don't think I can. I _know _I _will_." Videl replied before charging the huge man. Throwing a barrage of punches at the man quickly ended his laughing and sent him flying out of the ring. Her face had an almost cocky smirk on it as she walked back to the competitor's room.

"Great job out there." Gohan said, congratulating her on her performance.

"Thank you." Videl said, shooting him a smile.

"No problem, it looks like we'll be going up against eachother in the next round." Gohan informed her.

Videl smirked. "Oh, don't worry, I'm ready." She said with a glint of eagerness flashing through her eyes. "But I hope you are." She said, overly-confident in her martial arts ability.

Gohan smiled. "I'm ready" He said before a stomach growl as loud as an earthquake interrupted their conversation. Gohan chuckled, "I guess I could use a bite to eat first." He said, scratching the back of his head, the traditional grin of the Son Family.

At this, Videl fell. Anime style. "I wouldn't mind something to eat myself." Videl said with a shrug. "We have plenty of time before our match anyways." She explained.

"Then it sounds like a plan to me, but I should probably tell Tien and Krillin where I'm going. I'll catch up to you." Gohan explained before running over to his friends while Videl began to walk to the world famous WMAT Resteraunt . "Hey guys, I know your matches are coming up any minute now, but I'm starving so I'm about to go get something to eat with Videl. I'll see you guys soon, good luck in your matches!" Gohan said very quickly before running after Videl.

A sweat drop trickled down Tien's forehead. "Um... okay." He said looking to Krillin.

"Wait, did he say he was going with that Videl girl?" Krillin asked, before looking to the direction where Gohan ran off.

"I think so." Tien replied, looking to the direction where Gohan had ran off as well.

Krillin's face birthed a smirk. "Chi-Chi is going to love this." He said.

Elsewhere, Gohan had caught up to Videl and the two began to have a conversation.

"So, who taught you Martial Arts anyways?" Videl asked, curious to know how the boy who was only her age was already so talented.

"Oh, first it was my dad's friend, and after him it was my dad." Gohan explained. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm mostly self-taught. At first it was my dad, but ever since he defeated Cell he's been too caught up with the money, fame and women to even have time for me." Videl said, letting out a sigh. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but sometimes I wish he'd just lose a match."

Gohan's eyes widened a bit at her remark. "And why do you say that?" He asked.

"Well, like I said he just isn't the same person since he defeated Cell and got so famous... maybe if he lost a match people would stop looking up to him as if he is some god and maybe if that happened he'd start spending time with me again." Videl explained, it felt weird, but refreshing to say this to someone else. She had kept it bottled up inside of herself for so long.

"Yeah, I understand you completely. He's just lost in the fame. If I were you, I'd talk to him about it. Let him know how you feel." Gohan said, giving his new friend some advice.

"That's a good idea." Videl said, smiling at the spiky-haired teen. "But if you don't mind me asking, what was your dad like?"

Gohan smiled at the thoughts of his dad. "Well, he was an amazing man. He was so strong, yet at the same time he was so caring, so helpful, and he was always so happy. Just being around him made people happy. There was days everyone would be down, just sad and he'd just walk in and everyone would start to smile. He just radiated that positivity." Gohan said, his smile turning to a frown. "And I miss him every second of every day." He said, looking to the ground, tears begging to fall from his eyes.

Videl noticed the change in his facial expression and quickly wrapped her arms around the boy and embraced him in a hug. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you. Hell, I think we could both use someone to talk to." She said, thinking about her mother before tightening the hug.

The hug had carried on for almost a minute, and something about it just felt so _right _to the teens. Videl then released her clasp around the boy. She smiled at him, "now let's go get that bite to eat." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him in the direction of the resteraunt.

Soon, the duo had arrived at the resteraunt and had gotten themselves a table to sit at. "Oh, and by the way I eat quite a bit." Gohan told his new raven-haired friend before being handed a menu.

"I'll be back shortly, but do take as much time as you need." The waiter said, before bowing and walking off.

"So, what do you think you're going to get?" Videl asked the onyx-eyed teen.

"I think I'm going to get one of everything." Gohan said, completely serious, but Videl took it as a joke and laughed, causing the spiky-haired teen to slightly frown. "I'm serious. I have a really big appetite." He explained.

Videl's eyes widened slightly. "You're serious... aren't you?" She asked, in response, all she got from Gohan was a nod. "Jeez, and I thought I had a big appetite." Videl said with a small laugh, still slightly astonished.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy." Gohan said with the typical _Son Grin_.

Soon, the waiter took the duo's order, and was also astonished at the male teenager's astonishingly large appetite. For the next minute or two, it was silent at the table in which the teens were seated at.

"So, do you go to school nearby?" Videl asked, breaking the silence. It was kind of a dumb question, as Papaya Island was rather far away from any school.

"No, I don't go to school at all actually. I've been homeschooled all my life." Gohan explained.

"Oh, so what that's like?" She asked.

"It's pretty cool, my mom used to be a really strict teacher, but it's no where near as bad anymore. She's too busy with my younger brother. All I have to do is finish some work and the rest of my day is mine to do whatever I'd like. Well, if my Mom's okay with it anyways." Gohan replied. "So what's public school like?"

"I hate it, mostly because everyone is trying to be my friend because of who I am and who my Dad is." Videl explained.

"Yeah, I can understand that. I mean, I know what being in my father's shadow feels like so I can imagine what it's like for you." Gohan replied, understanding where Videl was coming from.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here right now... maybe if I win this thing, people will start recognizing me as my own person more, rather than just me being the daughter of the champion who saved the world." Videl explained. "Speaking of which, why did you enter the tournament?" She asked.

"Oh, well you see my family just really needs the money, I figured if I won, that prize money could solve the problems." Gohan explained.

"Then what about your three friends? Why are they competing?" Videl asked.

"To be honest with you... I don't even know myself. I had no idea they'd even be here. I'd guess that they entered for the prize money or to just have a good time, I mean this is what they used to do with my Dad back in the day." Gohan explained.

"Oh, well that makes sense." She said as the waiter arrived at the table with their food.

"Enjoy." He said with a bow before walking away from the teens.

Gohan then unwrapped his silverware and quickly dug into his rather... _large _meal, leaving Videl awestruck at the sight, he had said he ate a lot, but seeing him eat so much at such a speed was insane!

"How does your body... fit all that food inside of it?" Videl asked, still in awe.

"I don't know to be honest. My Mom always likes to say I have a black hole for a stomach." Gohan said with a chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

"No kidding." Videl replied, eyes still slightly wide.

Soon, the two were both finishing their meals, but then something hit Gohan hard. He felt something. A large source of energy, one that felt... _familiar_. Gohan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor once he realized who the energy was coming from. "No way." was all he could manage to say.

**End of Chapter 3**

_Hahaha, hit you guys with the cliffy! Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, I know it took a while to get out, and I'm sorry, but I've just been really busy. This chapter has been done for a while now, just didn't have the time to edit it and fix some mistakes. _

@dld51: Yeah that's pretty much what it was. I appreciate the review!

@Ericsofly2: I appreciate it man!

@Aaron Leach: Thank You!

@Smithback: Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

@Shadowwriter01: I really appreciate it. Glad to hear you enjoyed it! And yeah, I tried to make Sharpener cool about it, rather than making him a sore loser.

@Knightwing20042: Thank you! I was hoping to make this a bit different from other stories with the same "24th WMAT" type of idea. Glad to hear you've enjoyed it so far. This chapter was a bit longer than the last two, but still pretty short. Long chapters have always been a problem of mine, but I feel like I'm getting better!

_If you've made it this far, please leave a review! It would be very appreciated!_

_Until next time..._

_April 13th, 2019_


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